I have one of those fancy-schmancy Samsung Frame TVs that displays art work. I love it. Worth every extra so extra penny to me, to be able to display artwork and not have a big black rectangle hanging on my wall. I live in a 5-room, 600 square foot cottage, so every inch of wall space has to pull its weight in the decor arena. Recently, my TV notified me there was new stuff in the Art Store to ponder and potentially select. Here is what I found:
A Rough Dog. George Stubbs, 1790.
Bowser on steroids? A leonine ancestor?
Here is our current-day Rough Dog:
I see a resemblance. Do you?
I think Stubbs’ A Rough Dog will be gracing my TV wall for a long time.
We hope you are having a great – not rough – weekend!
This month I am trying to recreate a dish I was treated to several months ago, by my co-host Donna’s husband, Richard.
I enjoyed this meal so much and have been thinking about it ever since. I knew I had to try to make it again for myself. I give you HelloFresh’s Black Bean Taquitos, lovingly made by Richard:
Photo by Donna
I had to forage for the ingredients from my own pantry and refrigerator, so here is what I came up with:
I sauteed the chopped veggies (onion, garlic, yellow and red peppers) in a pan with some oil. Then added the drained and rinsed canned black beans. I found a packet of almost expired taco seasoning mix in the cupboard and tossed that in too, along with a can of Rotel brand canned tomatoes and chilis. Putting the mixture on the tortillas and adding the cheese. I didn’t have Monterey Jack on hand, so made do with extra-sharp cheddar instead.Ready to go in the oven.Done! I loved how the shells got crispy at the ends.A little salsa, a little sour cream, a wedge of lime…ready to dig in!A delicious, hearty lunch. Definitely not as pretty as Richard’s, but every bit as tasty. Even after noshing on these for most of a week, I’m already planning to make this recipe again. I’m thinking these could also work individually frozen (before OR after going into the oven), and then to finish/reheat in the air fryer.
That’s it for me for this month…Be sure to check out Donna’s post here, and to let us know in the Comments or via the Link Party what’s on your plate! Looking forward to hearing from you.
We had a pretty mild February, here on Vancouver Island.
Here are some of my favourite photos, from last month.
How every walk starts, on our street. The poop bag is never let go of, no matter how pressing any other business is. It’s hard for me to get front-facing shots of Bowser, because he likes to range ahead. So I snap one whenever I get the opportunity.I finally got to see the wild elk herd whose tracks I come across almost every day. Here they are – quite a distance away in a farmer’s field – across the creek from where we are on the trail.An action shot of Bowser, mid-gallop.Bowser – probably annoyed I called for him, mid-exploration. A rare “standing still” opportunity for a portrait shot.
We hope you had some amazing February days. Here’s to an equally-amazing March for everyone!
Bowser has a new old favourite toy. I bought it for him last summer and it has languished in the yard over the winter months. I’m surprised he hasn’t destroyed it and that it still squeaks!
Look at what I found, Oma!I dare you to take it from me. I know you want to.Puh-lease?!?!?!
Hope you are having a fun weekend and playing with dirty slobbery toys too.
January 12 – I boarded the plane in Nanaimo at shortly after 5 am…anticipating the next 3 weeks of fun and relaxation with friends. Winter had finally arrived on the island, and our pilot announced he wanted the plane to go through a second bout of de-icing before we took off for Calgary. This meant arriving in Calgary and at the next gate breathless from sprinting through the airport, where the jet to Toronto waited.
Only to be told that we (there were more guests than just me needing that Toronto plane) were to step aside as the gate agent continued to check in guests arriving AFTER us. Spouting some policy about needing to be in the airport 45 minutes before take-off, the gate agent told us we were being rebooked. (Which was BULLSHIT. I’ve been on WestJet flights where they held the plane to accommodate passengers making tight connections.) Yep, they gave our seats away – probably to crew – and I was booked to fly to Toronto AT 6:30 PM THE NEXT DAY. No discussion except to tell us that we were on our own and WestJet was doing nothing for us as it was deemed a weather event that we “missed” the flight, and they weren’t liable.
FINE. Shit happens and this wasn’t going to ruin my trip. After making sure an underage guest was not left to twist in the wind by the heartless gate agent (they managed to get her out the same day once they realized she was only 16), I went to find myself a hotel room and make the best of things. Getting on another flight was not going to be an option for me as the Departures board was full of delays and cancellations due to the extreme cold weather Calgary was experiencing. The airport Marriott managed to get me into my very expensive room by 10am.
I’d only been there for an hour and already my eyes and nasal passages were inflamed and burning from the lack of moisture in the air. I went to look for eye drops and nasal spray in the airport – found the eye drops only – and also found an oasis of moist air:
This was a photo I sent to my daughter, showing her I had found a source of moisture in the airport (water feature on Arrivals floor). I hung out here on several occasions, during my imprisonment stay.From my room in the airport Marriott…slathering my face with Vaseline before heading for bed. It helped. I also soaked towels and threw them around the room to add moisture. They were all bone dry by morning.
The next day my 6:30 pm flight time came and went. Delayed until 10:45pm, eventually. I was cheered when I finally saw the plane come up to the gate. That didn’t last long, as the gate agents announced they were “just waiting for some crew members to arrive”. This dragged on for a bit until they finally announced the flight’s cancellation due to the lack of crew. We were told we’d be booked into hotels, transportation would be arranged, be given food vouchers, and rebooked to fly out the next day. All this information to come via email to our devices. The only emails I got were the food vouchers and a rebooking to fly into Hamilton, not Toronto. By now it was around 1 am, and my fellow passengers were drifting off to fend for themselves.
So I did the same. I booked a flight out with Porter for 730am the next morning and cancelled my WestJet flight. Then I decided it was not worth finding a hotel room anymore and tried to get some rest in the terminal, instead.
Trying (and failing) to get some sleep overnight at the Calgary airport. Hearing my fellow passengers blissfully snoring all around me, and burying my nose in a book on my phone. Yes, here I am in the wee hours of Sunday morning still in my Friday outfit (my only non-summer one). Ugh. (I did get to wash out my socks and undies in my hotel room and they dried in mere moments it seemed, thanks to the lack of moisture in the air – one silver lining!)
Sunday morning came eventually, and I gave up on any sleep myself a wet-wipe “bath” in one of the family washrooms and went to find my gate for the Porter flight to Toronto.
As promised, I got these notifications EVERY HALF HOUR until it was finally warm enough to de-ice the plane (at -33 degrees C) at 2 pm. To say I was a wreck by this time would be a gross understatement.De-icing fluid: I have never loved thee more! My Calgary airport ordeal was finally over. From 9 am Friday morning to 2 pm Sunday afternoon, and I was finally on my way to Toronto (after contemplating trains, buses and rental cars).
I must tell you I was an unwilling witness to snippets of so many peoples’ sad travel experiences during the time I spent in the airport. I heard people on their phones talking to family, hotels and travel agents about having to cancel their vacations/travel plans altogether due to the delays. It helped stopped my own personal pity party put my own woes into some kind of perspective. The travel clusterfuck caused by the extreme weather made the news, and I vowed to never grace this airport again if I could help it.
Unlimited wine (IN A GLASS) and beer and first class snacks, on Porter airlines. Also: free wifi and no middle seats. WestJet should be worried.Moon, as seen through my window on the airplane.
Joanne and I had a teary reunion at the Toronto airport and tried to make the best of my now-abbreviated stay with her. I think we succeeded! Laughs and good meals were shared, as well as a spa day at the Elmwood, downtown.
Why was this the only photo I took during my time with Joanne?!
And – in the blink of an eye it seemed – I was on another fucking jet with CJ, and we were heading south, to Barbados.
Back to my sunrise walking routine.One of my friends captured this perfect shot.Another picture-perfect sunset.Just before sunrise – full moon over the water.Dramatic skies with the moon behind the clouds on another early morning walk.We got to see sailors practicing for the Round the Island race, which took place during our stay…More sailing action, as seen from the shore.Another racing team.Lovely to see so many sailboats, from our beach.
One of the racers happened to be CJ’s nephew – whose team took first place for their class of boat. Woohoo!!! After the race, he and his wife graciously took us on a tour of the island for a day. We stopped at Earthworks Pottery, Animal Flower Cave, Limegrove Mall, and other island must-sees during our day out. Although we have been to many spots on the island during our years of coming here, these were all new to us and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. CJ’s sister Marilyn also joined us (and got a room at our same hotel) and it was lovely to spend time with her again, not having seen her since she and CJ visited me in the fall. CJ and I have been friends since we were 7 years old and I’m always happy to be folded into her clan.
Tremendous wave action at Animal Flower Cave area, at the north end of the island. Taken from the restaurant where we ate lunch.We explored the area, which is stunning. That’s the restaurant, in the background. Unfortunately the waves were too high to allow us to go to the actual cave. Trying to look angelic at Limegrove Mall in Holetown, where expensive retail therapy happens. I didn’t buy anything, which was just as well considering what happened later.
My friends Jackie and Adrien had also come down to Barbados (first visit for them) and I tried to divide my time such that I got to hang with everybody, equally. Jackie and I booked a catamaran cruise for one of the days we were both at the hotel, and it was a lot of fun to swim the wrecks and observe the sea life there, again.
On a catamaran day trip with my friend Jackie (who took this shot). In Carlisle Bay.
We also snorkelled off of off the beach at the hotel. A fellow guest educated me on how much tropical fish loved to eat bananas! Here is a 2 minute video (watch as much as you can stand) of me (with Jackie) feeding the reef fish:
Jackie (and Adrien) and I out to dinner at Tapas restaurant. I think her husband was off looking at the sunset at the time.Night shot, taken while walking the boardwalk back to the hotel after dinner.Out for a sunset dinner at Champers with CJ (and fam).
For an introvert like me, this vacay was incredibly people-y. And thus, over before I knew it. It was a bit of blur. An enjoyable blur, but a blur nonetheless.
Soon (too soon) I was back on a plane to Vancouver (bypassing the Calgary airport, deliberately of course). I had a very long layover before my flight to Nanaimo was scheduled so I decided to cancel that leg and grab a ferry to the island instead.
And, when I went to Arrivals to retrieve the carry-on bag that I was forced to check (due to a very full flight), I was informed they didn’t have my bag. WTF?!?!?!
I had an AirTag in the bag so I called up Find My app on my phone, and it told me that my bag had already left the airport and was travelling (probably on the SkyTrain) far away from me. For the next 12 hours, I held onto the delusion thought that someone had mistakenly taken my highly distinctive bag and would return it to the airport at their earliest opportunity. I did also make a police report, in the meantime. Long story short, after a couple of days of angst and many conversations with many lovely police officers (truly, I was impressed by their diligence), my luggage seemed to settle on Hastings Street in Vancouver, and I disabled the AirTag. My stolen luggage was irretrievably LOST to me.
AirTags are great, but seeing your luggage travelling around Vancouver without you is not.
So, all of the beach clothes, swim wear and jewellery (and much, much more) you see in the above photos are gone forever. And I am waiting (not so patiently) to hear from WestJet about the claims I have made for the cancelled flights and the stolen luggage. Not the best travel experience, but I had been reminded on this trip how many had it much worse than me.
Will I travel by air again, after this series of unfortunate events? Not soon, but eventually is inevitable I suppose. Road tripping and stay-cationing is looking very good (and so much less stressful) to me right now…
How about you? Have a travel tale of woe to share? Let me know in the comments, if you care to!
I recently came back from a 3 week winter vacation (more about that at some point…) and my reunion with family was joyous. However, I did notice that Bowser was a bit more…um…substantial than when I left.
Who are YOU to call ME chonky, Oma? Point taken.I give you Exhibit A.
In Bowser’s defense, the island experienced ALL THE WEATHER while I was away. Snow storms, atmospheric rivers, and wind storms. Which made for less than ideal dog walking conditions.
Bowser’s daddy has to pick him up when he started limping and biting at his paws due to ice buildup. Long-time readers know Bowser has experienced many snowy walks but this was the first time it actually bothered his paws.Storm damage on the trail.More storm damage.The trail is under here somewhere. Even more storm damage.
There is only one cure for our Bowser’s chonkiness.
Lots of these.Including running at full tilt through the trails…
And lots of playtime chasing after ballies!
We hope you are having a great weekend, and are able to enjoy the great outdoors (and keep the winter chonkies at bay 😉).
I can’t praise the recipes I’ve tried at Sip and Feast enough! Every one has been a winner so far, and subject to repeat requests by my family. Here is a recipe for scalloped potatoes that I have made multiple times already since trying it.
Prepped and ready to go into the oven.The finished dish..glorious!What’s been on my plate this past winter. (This was actually our non-traditional Christmas dinner for 2023! My daughter wanted a break from turkey.)Our dinner included this family favourite too.And of course…a trifle (blueberry, made from the past summer’s pickings). No recipe here – I’ve made this so many times I just free-wheel it now 🤣.
That’s my short and sweet post for this month. I hope you’ll join my co-host Donna and myself and let us know what’s been on your plate lately, either in the Link Party or in the Comments.
It’s no secret that Bowser knows his place. And it’s the couch. Every couch. Mommy’s office couch has loose cushions on the back and Bowser needs to be up high, on top of them. This will not go well.
Bowser, in preferred “perch”.Uh oh, gravity is in play here and the slide down has begun.What does a doggo have to do to get a comfortable resting position?Almost there.Sigh!Bowser has finished his descent and come to full nappitude.
We hope you have a restful napping place this weekend.
